Popeyes getting makeover, focuses on Louisiana heritage

AFC Enterprises Inc. will spice up its Popeyes restaurants with a new logo, new menu items and a new branding/advertising campaign that begins Monday.

Atlanta-based AFC Enterprises (NASDAQ: AFC), whose profits have been flat for two straight quarters, wants to boost the Popeyes chain by emphasizing the chain as a “Louisiana Kitchen” that provides slow-cooked food “Louisiana Fast.” The company wants to remind consumers about its 12-plus hour marination process for its chicken and other products, which gives the chain’s food a spicy Louisiana flavor. There are six Popeye's in North Carolina, including one in Whitsett..

Austin, Texas-based Pentagram Design has created a new logo for Popeyes that retains Popeyes' well-known "dancing letters" but updates them with a more contemporary look and feel. A circle crest containing a "P" icon and a fleur de lis gives a nod to the brand's Louisiana heritage. The color choices -- red and orange -- echo the original design of the restaurants and suggest the characteristic Louisiana seasonings that many Popeyes products are slowly marinated for up to 12 hours.

On Aug. 25, Popeyes will begin a new ad campaign featuring a friendly, young fictional chef, "Ed," who sits down with unsuspecting diners and shares matter-of-fact insights about their food choices and all the work that is behind Popeyes products.

Later in August, Popeyes will begin a “Big Deals” menu. The first three items, priced at $1.49, are a Loaded Chicken Wrap, which has a crispy all-white meat chicken breast tender and Popeyes' red beans and rice wrapped into a warm cheddar tortilla with a side of Louisiana brand hot sauce; the Delta Mini, a mini sandwich with a crispy all-white meat chicken breast tender marinated in Louisiana seasonings on a mini toasted bun with a spicy cream sauce; and the Chicken Biscuit, which puts a crispy all-white meat chicken breast tender on the chain’s famous warm buttermilk biscuits.